Category: Chefs/Restaurants

Puerto Rican Swordfish Escabeche

Puerto Rican Swordfish Escabeche

Puerto Rican Swordfish Escabeche

As you navigate the coastal roads of Puerto Rico, you’re bound to discover a beloved local delicacy: Fish Escabeche, a delectable pickled and marinated fish dish savored throughout the island.

The unique twist on this dish involves grilling swordfish steaks, departing from the more common fried fish preparation. The result is a smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with the tangy and tart vinegar used in the recipe.

The escabeche sauce relies on a combination of rice vinegar and honey, not only for preservation but also to introduce a delightful sweetness. Many locals prepare a batch of escabeche de pescado to enjoy during beach trips, embodying a quintessential Puerto Rican culinary experience.

Swordfish can be found in the waters surrounding Puerto Rico, especially in the deeper offshore areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Interestingly, swordfish are known to be more active at night, so many fishermen prefer to go fishing after dark. This involves setting up powerful lights on the boat’s surface to attract the fish to the surface.

Swordfish Escabeche Recipe

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Chicken Liver Pâté à la Jacques Pépin

Julia Child's Annual Birthday Tribute

JULIA CHILD’S ANNUAL BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE

Chicken Liver Pâté à la Jacques PépinChicken Liver Pâté à la Jacques Pépin

Joyeux Anniversaire Julia Child! It has been an honor, a passion, and a tradition to celebrate the Chef’s birthday on Taste With The Eyes for several years now.

This year I imagine her dear, long-time friend, Jacques Pépin, inviting her over for an intimate luncheon that begins with her favorite upside-down martini. The first course includes his famous chicken liver pâté with toasted baguette, radishes from the garden with Maldon sea salt and European-style butter, cornichons and cocktail onions.

Chicken Liver Pâté à la Jacques PépinChicken Liver Pâté Recipe

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Octopus Carpaccio, Nobu-Style

Octopus Carpaccio, Nobu-Style

🐙 Octopus Carpaccio, Nobu-Style 🐙
Fish Roe, Jalapeño Dressing, Cabbage Radish Salad

The inspiration for this eye-catching carpaccio dish came from an old image of Octopus Carpaccio at Nobu Shoreditch Restaurant, London. Captivated by the purple and white octopus coins in a sea of spring-green, I turned to Nobu Matsuhisa’s beautiful book “Nobu West” for his piquant jalapeño-garlic dressing recipe which completely revved up the chilled octopus’ sweet ocean-y flavors.

Fish roe added an insane pop of color, salty notes, and a contrasting crunchy texture. Finely diced jalapeño brought a bit more heat and excitement to the party. ありがとうシェフ Thank you, Chef!

Octopus Carpaccio, Nobu-Style

Octopus Carpaccio Recipe

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Fried Prawns with Candied Walnuts, Inspired by Wing Lei-Las Vegas

Fried Prawns with Candied Walnuts, Inspired by Wing Lei🦐 Fried Prawns with Creamy Calamansi Sauce 🦐
Date Syrup Candied Walnuts with Chinese Five Spice

Wing Lei is the first Chinese restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin star – serving Cantonese, Shanghai and Szechuan flavors, and featuring tableside-carved Imperial Peking duck.

The meaning of the Chinese characters that represent Wing Lei, is twofold: not only does it mean “forever prosperous” but it also represents “Wynn” itself, the luxury Las Vegas resort and casino. All the menu items are priced ending in 88 cents. Representing prosperity and completeness, the number 88 is especially popular in Chinese culture because of the double eights but also because of its visual similarity to the sign for double happiness 囍.

Places are set with two sets of chopsticks per person. Black chopsticks are used to take food from mutual dishes to one’s plate. White ones are meant to carry food to one’s mouth.

We recently enjoyed an extraordinary meal at Wing Lei, celebrating my nephew’s 21st birthday. The service and ambiance were impeccable, the food sublime. One of our favorite dishes was Fried Prawns, I re-create my version here.

Fried Prawns with Candied Walnuts, Inspired by Wing Lei

Fried Prawns Recipe

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Simple Summer Swordfish

Simple Summer Swordfish

Grilled Swordfish
Creamy Tomato Cucumber Salad

How about a simple dinner that is summery, sustainable, super-easy, and super-tasty? Grilled swordfish with a creamy tomato cucumber salad fits the bill.

Grilled Swordfish

Certified sustainable wild-caught swordfish steaks from Whole Foods are excellent. The swordfish is caught in the pristine waters off the eastern shore of Nova Scotia where they work with fourth generation fishermen at a Marine Stewardship Council Certified Fishery. The fish are only caught during peak season, September through November, processed into 5 to 6 oz. portions, then frozen individually.

Place the frozen fish fillets in their packaging in an air-tight baggie. Submerge the baggie in cold water for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the fish from packaging. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Let fish come close to room temperature. Coat with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Cook on the grill over medium-high heat for approximately 3 minutes per side.  The packaging says to cook to an internal temperature of 145°F, but many chefs recommend 135°F. Just be sure not to overcook the swordfish.

Creamy Tomato Cucumber Salad

The store-bought buttermilk ranch dressing from Trader Joe’s is perfectly creamy, dilly, and garlicky. No need to make the dressing from scratch when composing this easy-going summer meal!

  • cherry tomatoes – halved
  • persian cucumbers  – quartered lengthwise, then sliced bite-sized
  • red onion – thinly sliced
  • pitted kalamata olives – halved lengthwise
  • fresh dill, chopped
  • buttermilk ranch dressing
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Combine equal amounts of tomatoes and cucumber in a mixing bowl. Add a lesser amount of onion and olives. Sprinkle with dill. Dress liberally with buttermilk ranch dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Plate

Spoon tomato cucumber salad into shallow bowls. Top with a grilled swordfish fillet and garnish with a sprig of dill.

As Ina would say, “How easy is that?”